Coal chute



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' J. S. ERSKINE COAL CHUTE Filed March 14. 1922 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 J. S. ERSKINE COAL CHUTE Sept 18, 1923. mfiwm Filed March 14 1922 3 Sheets=$heet 5 Patented Sept. 1%, i923.

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JOHN S. ERSKINE, or rnnnro'nr, ILL NoIs, AssIeNo t 'ro sTovn-n MANUFACTURING & ENGINE 00., or rnnnron'r, ILLINOIS, A CORPORATION or ILLINOIS.

Application filed March 14, 1922. Serial 1T0. 543,558.

To oil whom it may concern;

Be it known that 1, JOHN S. ERSKINE, a citizeirof the United States, residing at Freeport, in the county of Stephenson and State of Illinois, hainvented a certain :new and useful Improvement .in .Coal

Chutes, of which the following is a speciiication. 1

This invention relates to passages through exterior walls of buildings of the type commonly used for introducing coal into the building, and therefore commonly known as coalchutes, although the useof the inventioiiis not, by any means, limited to devices designed exclusively for the intr duction of coal. 7

Theobject of the invention isto provide a device of this class with an exceedingly simple and readily operatable door adapted to close the passage when no coal or other material is being introduced into the building, but adapted to swing to a position where it assists in guiding coal introduced into the building, this in combination with means for protecting the door when in its latter position, should the doorbe made of glass :or other transparent material, the protecting device being readily movable when the chute door is shut so that it does not obstruct the passage of light through the transparent material of the door. 7

A further obj ectof the invention is to, pro vide, in combination with the foregoing, a wall protecting shield which may be swung against the building in which the chute is placed, when the chute is in positionfor the introduction of coal, nd to provide a: single operating means operatable at a distance from the chute, toselcctively open or close the door in the chute, as the operator desire. 7

-The invention consists innieaiis capable of attaining the foregoing objectswliich can be comparatively easily and cheaply made, 'whiclris very satisfactory and efiicient in operation and which is not readily liable to get out of use; The invention further con sists in many features and details of congtruction which will be hereafter more fully set forth in the specification and claims.

Referring to the drawings, in which like numerals .designate the same parts through out the several views- Figure 1 is a perspective exterior face view of the chute mechanism of this invention, showing the door in normal or closed position;

Figure 2 is vertical sectional or detail view through the wall of a building or the like, showing the mechanism of this invention in its preferred form applied thereto, the door and co-operating parts being in the position which they assume when the door is closed;

ligure 3 is a plan view of the mechanism of Figure 2, certain parts being shown in section;

Figure i is a changed position view of the device of'Figure 1, showing the parts in the position which they assume when coal is being introduced into the building;

Figure 5 is an enlarged detail plan view of the door securing latch mechanism taken from tlieupper left hand corner of Fig- Figure 6 is a perspective view of the device of this invention taken from the inside of the building, with the parts in the same position as in Figure 2; and

Figure 7 is a changedposition perspective view of the parts of Figure 6, showing such parts in the position of Figure at; and

Figure -8 is a section through the door showing the hinge mounting.

The chute closing door and associated parts, to be hereafter fully described in detail, may, without departin from this invention, be installed in any wall opening of a building through which coal or other material is to be introduced. They are, however, most conveniently offered for sale and applied to the building, by selling them in conjunction with a ready made member 10 provided at convenient points with outwardly turned teeth 12 embeddable in the wall proper, 14, of the building, the chute at the outer surface 16 of the building being closed by a rectangular door frame 18 suitably secured in place by any suitable means such as rivets 20. In ordinary practice, the chute proper, 10, and the door frame 18, will be secured in place by these rivets at the factory, and-the wall 14- built around the parts described. There is, however, nothing in the character of the invention to prohibit the assembling of the chute 10 and the frame 18 in connection with a previously built wall 14 in which a perforation has been provided for the chute I0.

Pivoted in any suitable manner on the lower side of the opening in the frame 18, as for instance on pivots 22-, is a chute clos ng door 24 shown in the drawings as provided with a central perforation26 closed by glass 28 or other translucent material, through which light may pass into the coal chute when the door is closed, as shown in Figures 2 and 6. There is, however, nothing in the invention to prevent a solid door being, used if economy or other reason prompts the use of such a construction. c

The hinges are preferably made with U- shaped lugs 19 on opposite sides of pivots 22 so arranged that the door can be lifted oil the pivots when the door is-partly open and set aside out of the way of objects to be inserted in the chute, should it be. desired to dose, and yet cannot be removed when the door is closed.

Projecting from opposite ends of the door 24 into the chute 10 and secured to the door by any suitable means, as for instance the angles 30. and rivets 32, are suitably shaped the same being, in" the particularcase here coal guiding plates 34 connected at their outer corners, which are most remote from the door, by cross bar stop 36 adapted, when the door opens, to engage downwardly projecting' lugs 38 on: the inner side of the.

upper edge of the frame 18 and, as clearly shown in Figure 4, to limit the downward and outward movement of the door 24 to the proper angular position, best suited for insuring the ready passage of coal thrown onto the door 24 when in this pos1tion, down the door and the chute 10 into the interior building through the chute l0 and the closed window 28. I

VJ hen a solid chute door without glass 28 is-used in place of the door 24, thisglass protecting door 40' bQCOIHQS'ffUIlClJlO-IllBSS and may be omitted from the structure without otherwise departing from this invention.

In order to protect the lower part of the outer surface 16 oi thewall 14, whi'ch is adjacent to the upper 'side of the chute '10 from coal dust and the like which normally arises 'in the operation of passing coal through the chute mechanism when the parts are in the position of Figures 4 and 7,

another dust-protecting door4-4 is provided,

illustrated, secured-fin place by pivoting its carrying devices.

ISllSQCl, the branch rope not connected to opposite ends on suitable pivot pins 46 inserted one each at convenient points in the two plates 34 heretofore described. This door is of such a size and shape that when "the chute door is opened for the. introduction' or" coal, it will assume the position shown in Figures 4 and T, andthus protect the adjacent portion'ot the outer surface of-the building wall, and at other timesit may be swung to the position of Figures 2 and 6, in which it is conveniently packed inside the members 34 and does not interfere with the free movement of the door 24 and attached parts into the final closed position of Figures 2'and 6. 24 is normally locked in the closediposition shown in Figure 2 by at least one'and preferably two. oppositely positioned bolts 64 at the rear of the upper inner wall of the chute 10, thence through another eyelet 66 on the member 36 and thence out of the chute 10 to a convenient point inside the "building, whereit may be manipulated by an operator of the device. The term eyelet is used to include pulleys or equivalent rope 1 only one latch bolt 50 it is simplyattached to a stationary point on the opposite wall, i. e., member 56, Figure 6, can be on a' bolt (not appearing) on the wall. f a

For purposes of description, we have placed upon Figures 2 and 4 of the'drawing's an imaginary line A-A passing through the pivot 22 of the door 24 and the eyelet 64' recently described.

the door is'closed, with the parts in theposition of Figure 2 and that the operator in- .side the building pulls upon the free end 6O of the rope 60. This action does two things. It first transmits to the branch members 58 of the rope 60 a tension sufficient to'retract the bolts 50 from latches 54 and thus release the door '24. It also creates in the two parts of the rope, 60 passing through eyelet 62,

through eyelet"64,-toeyelet 66, a tension tending to rock the door mechanism 24' in a counter-clockwise direction as viewed in The door mechanism.

stationary lugs 38 heretoforev Assume that V member 36, thence through stationary eyelet 05 Figure 1, to open the door and this tension continues until the bar 36 hasat least passed up untll its plane includes line A-A, 'Fig ure 2, Before the door 24, and its attached parts, reaches this position, however, the center of gravity of the door mechanism has, because o1 the excessive weight of the door itself, passed to the left of the frame 18, with the result that the door will open the rest of the way by gravity. In other words, briefly stated, when the operator pulls on end of rope 60, he releases the latches or bolts 50 and starts the door toward its open position with sufficient force so that the opening movement is completed by the weight of the door 24 in that portion of the opening stroke of the door in which member 36 is above line A as viewed in Figure 2. Conversely, when the chute door mechanism is open, as viewed in Figure 4, and the operator starts to pull on end 60 of rope 60, he exerts, in the manner which is entirely obvious from an inspection of Figure 4, a horizontal pull on the bar 36, which will move the door mechanism in a clockwise direction until this member 36 passes line A--A of Figure 4. By giving the rope end 60 a sharp jerk, the operator can, while the door is moving this far, give the door mechanism'sut'ficient momentum so that after bar 36 crosses line AA, the door will complete its closing operation without other manual assistance.

From the foregoing, it appears that with M must be moved by hand to its elevated wall protecting position, it is automatically thrown to its folded-in position by the closing of the chute door.

The word rope as used in the claims is intended to mean any chain, flexible wire, or other equivalent pulling device.

What I claim is:

i. In mechanism oi the class described, in combination with a chute having oneend to be closed, a door pivoted to swing to two different positions, in one of which it closes said chute andin the other of which it is inclined thereto for the reception of material to pass through the chute, and a single operating mechanism located at a distance from the chute end which is opposite to the door, adapted for manipulation by an operator to open or close the chute door as the case may be. 7

2. In mechanism of the class described, in combination with a chute having one end to be closed, a door pivoted to swing to two different positions, in one oi which it closes said chute and in the other of which it is inclined thereto for the reception of material to assrthrou h the chute and a sin le rope adapted to be pulled by an operator at a distance from the end of the chute which is opposite to the door, to open or close the chute door as the case may be.

In mechanism of the class described, in combination with a chute having one end to be closed, a door pivoted to swing to two difierent positions, in one of which it closes said chute and in the other of which it is inclined thereto for the reception of material to pass through the chute, means latching the door in closed position, and a single rope adapted to be pulled by an operator at a distance from the end of the chute which is opposits to the door to release said latching means and open or close the chute door as the case may be.

4. In mechanism of the class described, in

combination witn a chute having one end to he closed, door pivoted to swing to two different positions, in one of which it closes said chute and in. the other of which it is inclined thereto tor the reception of material to pass through the chute, means mounted on stationary supports in the chute latching the door in closed position, and a single rope adapted to be pulled by an operator at a distance from the end of the chute which is opposite to the door to release said latching means and open or close the chute door as the case may be.

5. In mechanism of the class described, in combination with a chute having one end to be closed, a door pivoted to swing to two (lit iterent positions, in one of which it closes said chute and in the other of which it is inclined thereto for the reception of material to pass through the chute, means mounted on stationary supports in the chute latching the door in closed position, an arm extending from the door into the chute and movable with the door, and a single rope having one end attached to said latch mechanism and thence slidably passing first over a fixed JOHN S. ERSKINE. 

